I have a player considering the following invested device. Are the numbers accurate and laws of magic followed?
Power Kraut
Silver wand with a cabbage carved into the tip.[]Rolling Cabbage [ReHe 49][list]Enchant a group of 10 cabbages with mobility and speed of a horse, commanded to approach someone as directed by the user of the wand. One can usually hear something like chittering while they roll toward their target.
(Base 10 + 2 Voice + 2 Diam + 2 Group + 1 Speed, +4 levels for 12 uses/day)[/:m][]Cole Slawghter [ReHe(MuTe) 37]Similar to Earth's Carbuncle, each of the cabbages are turned into iron and then forced to explode in a one pace radius for +15 damage.
(Base 4 + 2 Voice + 2 Group + 1 Muto requisite + 1 Damage, +3 levels linked trigger, +4 levels for 12 uses/day)[/:m]
[]Trigger without Warning [InIm 14]The cabbages are watched by the wand, such that the moment they touch a creature, cole slawghter is activated.
(Base 1 + 2 Voice + 1 Diam + 2 Group; +4 levels for 12 uses/day)[/:m][/list:u]
The numbers appear accurate, though it seems an extremely inefficient item; however, to improve it we'd need to know a bit more about about its purpose. Is it meant only to damage, or to threaten and possibly damage? Is there a reason for turning the cabbages into actual iron rather than keeping them Herbam, which can be pretty damaging too, perhaps for use against faeries? Why use existing cabbages rather than create them ex nihilo?
Incidentally, note that all the effects have 0 Penetration, so the weakest Magic Resistance will stop them.
The purpose of the item is to use them as a weapon, and this is what the player came up with. Reason for using existing cabbages is because they have a rather large source on hand.
Ordinarily cabbages going at high velocity isn't all that damaging because of the fact it's still a bunch of leaves, while iron shrapnel is more damaging. That was an aesthetic choice.
For penetration, we can add 6 to cole slawghter without raising any of the costs.
I think the InIm effect needs to use the rules for Magical Senses on page 113 of the Core Rules and should be R: Personal and T: Vision (equivalent to Boundary). Also, this effect is neither linked to another effect, nor is it constantly in effect (which it probably should be), so it looks like it needs to be activated independently of everything else ATM.
So the effect should probably be (Base 1, +0 Personal, +2 Sun, +4 Vision, +1 level for 2x/day, +3 levels environmental trigger) or InIm 19 - this lets the wand "see", allowing the linked trigger you want. Added levels for Penetration for this effect are needed if the wand is to be able to "see" creatures with equivalent MR or less.
If the creator's MT is up to it, a more complex physical item with more S/M bonuses suitable to the effects to be instilled might be worth considering, to boost lab totals. Including a Magnet would give +2 Rego, for example.
The description of Cole Slawter seems a little ambiguous and open to rules lawyering without clarification. Is the collective damage of all 10 cabbages exploding +15, or does each cabbage explode for +15, with possibly overlapping areas of effect? Are they all supposed to trigger at once, or is the wand supposed to trigger each one individually as it touches a target? Better to have that worked out before the wand is actually made, IMO.
P.S. - Since there is both consultation & punning involved in this thread, does that mean you're krautsourcing?
How's this for the Sensor Power? Trigger w/out Warning (InIm 20)When the cabbages begin to move, the item begins to track their movement and will activate cole slawghter when they contact a person.
(Base 1 + 0 Personal + 1 Diam + 4 Vision; +4 for 12 uses/day, +3 Penetration, +3 levels linked trigger) Cole Slawghter (ReHe(MuTe) 36)Every time an enchanted cabbage touches a person, it transforms into metal and explodes in a one pace radius for +15 damage, as per Earth's Carbuncle.
(Base 4 + 2 Voice + 1 Muto + 1 Damage; +3 linked trigger, +3 penetration, +10 unlimited uses)
I like this item.
I will borrow it for a Halloween version (I know, it is Shamain and all that), but we are rather... lax shall I say... regarding history in my campaign.
Rolling cabages will be upgrade with a Creo requisit, to make a "Murder of Pumpkins" (more appropriate than a herd of Pumpkin considering the end result), Cole Slawghter will become "Smashin' Pumpkin"...
